Better with Three
by RJRelentless
Summary: After the Doctor leaves Rose and the Meta-crisis at Bad Wolf Bay, the two get an unwanted visitor... or do they? As you can tell, I'm not good at summaries. Takes place after Season 4, follows Rose and the Duplicate through their lives. You might have to read my previous story 'Trapped' before reading this. The fourth and final instalment of my 'Cub' series.
1. Chapter 1

Soft gales whipped around the nearly abandoned beach as the waves gently spread up the damp sand, seagulls flying around the grey, dull sky, waiting for an opportunity to snatch some prey for their pestering offspring. The three of them, they stood on that … _forsaken _beach, watching as the magical blue police box disappeared from view, slowly but surely.

The Bad Wolf stood incredibly still, staring at the empty spot her old home once stood, desperately willing it to materialise again. She knew this wouldn't work, however this didn't stop her. She stared at the spot for a few long moments, before her attention was dragged else where, down to her recently filled paw.

The Oncoming Storm… the _Duplicate_ took her hand, giving it a comforting squeeze, making sure she knew he was still there, still by her side. She turned to him, a blank expression on her face. The shape of his hand fit perfectly into hers, like the shape of a jigsaw puzzle, but the feel wasn't quite right.

She attempted to say something, anything. But the words refused to come. They stood like statues for a few minutes, before an intruding voice called, "It's bloody freezing out here! You two can stand there if you wan', I'm getting a taxi," Jackie Tyler wandered off the beach, muttering 'Bloody Norway…' as she went.

The Doctor chuckled lightly at the older woman as she walked, leaving her soon to be fading footprints in the sand. "She's right," he admitted to Rose. "it is quite cold." He looked back at the spot where the TARDIS- the last reminder of his home planet- had vanished. Squeezing her hand again, he asked quietly, "Are you alright?"

Rose gave him a bemused look, an uncertain one. For once, she didn't really know what she felt like. Tired was one of the things she was feeling due to her long day, sadness was another because the long day didn't get her the goal she wanted, and confusion as to why a copy could say something the original couldn't. She gave him a weak smile, squeezing his hand in reply. "I'm always alright."

The Doctor winced at these three little words. It wasn't the best feeling in the world, having this young woman he loved so dearly repeat the phrase he so frequently said. Because he knew what it meant, what she was _really_ saying.

"_Is 'all right' special Time Lord Code for really not all right at all?" Donna asked him once, the pair of them leaning against a wall._

"_Why?" he replied._

"_Because I'm all right, too."_

The Doctor grimaced at the thought of his red-headed friend. She had given him so much during their time travelling together. A laugh, a person to argue with every now and then when they both needed it, someone to hold him back before he went too far. He was no idiot. He knew what the meta-crises had cost her; her life. The life she loved. He knew what his Time Lord counter part would have to do, and he was grateful that he didn't have to witness it. He would miss Donna, but he had to do what he always did; move on.

"C'mon," Rose urged. "I don't want to be here any longer then we have to." Nodding in agreement, glad she was ignoring his past words 'always wait five and a half hours', the Doctor followed her up the beach, not allowing her to take her hand away from his. He needed to know she was there, not just some cruel illusion that would vanish if he let his guard down. He'd already felt the pain of that before.

However, half way up the beach, he stopped. There was a buzzing in his mind, a familiar, guilty buzzing that he remembered all too well. He turned quickly, watching as a cloaked figure slowly made their way towards them, a small bundle in their arms. "Look…" the Doctor whispered.

Rose turned quickly, secretly hoping she would look round to see the blue wooden box appear once again, but was slightly disappointed, if not angry, to see who she saw. Ripping her hand away from the Doctor's, she took her place in front of him, a look in her eyes that could match the Oncoming Storm's. "Don't you dare come any closer," Rose growled. "Don't you _dare_!"

The figure chuckled. "I find it funny that you don't even have to see my face to know it's me." They adjusted what was in their arms to rest on their left arm, lifting the right to pull back the hood, revealing their long known friend; Eliza.

"I'd recognise you anywhere," Rose spat. "Just leave, okay? I don't want to see you."

"I take it you still don't forgive me, then?" Eliza asked cheerfully, smiling happily to try and lighten her friend's mood. In reaction, she only got a glare. "Y'know, you can be _really _difficult at times."

"_Difficult?_" Rose demanded. "Difficult?! After what you did, I have a right to be difficult! You took my baby away from me, my little girl, Eliza! Mine and the Doctor's baby girl!" she looked at the Doctor, then remembered that he wasn't _really _the Doctor, her Doctor that helped make their baby. He looked down at the sand, making small circles in the surface.

"I told you it was necessary," Eliza huffed slightly, adjusting the bundle in her arms. "and I swore to bring her back."

"One year on," Rose spat.

"It hasn't been that long for her," Eliza insisted. "It's only been a few days, three at the max." Rose and Eliza stared each other down for a few seconds before a small noise came from the blankets. A small hand emerged from them, reaching for the chain on Eliza's coat. Taking one of the ends, she gave the small metal chains to the hand, the small fist bringing the end of the chain to its mouth. Eliza looked up at the two now looking at her, Rose, near enough, having tears in her eyes. Taking two steps foreword, she hesitantly drew out her arms. "Give her here."

At first, Eliza was reluctant. Looking down at the chocolate brown eyes, she gave a small smile and sighed, adjusting the baby, readying her for transfer. Slowly, the small, fragile baby was taken from Eliza's secure arms to Rose's. At that point, Rose felt… in all honesty, she didn't know what she felt. Happiness for having her child back, guilty for now preventing her kidnapping, a small amount of awkwardness due to the Doctor peering over her shoulder. The small baby rubbed her eyes, then looked at the two giants looking down on her. "Hello," Rose greeted softly as the brown eyes met with hers. Reaching up, a tiny hand rested on her chin.

"I really am sorry," Eliza said quietly. "For taking her away, and dumping her on you like this," she looked at the Doctor at the last comment. "It's not easy adjusting to a new life, let alone an _actual_ new one," she looked back at Rose, who was still looking down at the bundle. "But I couldn't really think of a better way to bring her back, so… here I am."

"You two comin' or what?" Jackie called from the upper part of the beach. Eliza gave a small wave, not at all surprised when she didn't receive one back. "I'll explain to you on the way back what's going to be needed and stuff," she told them, taking place in front of the others.

The Doctor found he couldn't move, neither could Rose. They stood there for a long few moments, staring down at the baby, her eyes searching their faces silently. Eventually, when the baby had done enough, she moved to nuzzle into Rose's breast, feeling the rhythmic beat of her heart. "C'mon, it's too cold out here," the Doctor muttered, taking his eyes away from the bundle to walk up the beach, where Eliza was attempted to block Jackie slaps, most of them coming through successfully.

"Pete's sendin' a zeppelin over," Jackie grumbled as the other two made their way to the road. "Meanwhile, we've got a taxi to take us to the nearest motel, wherever the bloody hell it is…" she looked to Rose, then to the blanket in her arms, taking note of the small tuffs of hair sticking out. Rose gave Jackie a weak smile, the older woman approaching and taking some of the blanket back, revealing the dozing child. Knowing Rose wasn't going to let the baby out of her arms for a while, she gave a glare to Eliza, then proceeded to wait for the taxi.

* * *

The Doctor paced for a small while, once or twice looking over to Rose and their… _her _child.

"_Don't think like that," _Eliza chastised. _"She's yours, too."_

"_She's __**his**__," _the Doctor corrected, shaking his head at her. _"Not mine, his."_

"_Same person, different body," _Eliza replied dismissively. _"A bit like regeneration."_

"_You know as well as I do that this is far from regeneration," _the Doctor sighed inwardly as the taxi arrived.

"_It's not, really," _Eliza denied. _"Different body, different personality, same memories. Sound like regeneration to me."_ The Doctor ignored this comment as he clambered into the taxi, Jackie coming in next to him, Rose next to her mother, Eliza sitting with the driver to avoid awkwardness. Instead, she talked to the driver about the upcoming Christmas, even though it was only mid July, as the two women in the backseats talked quietly about what would happen with the baby, leaving the Doctor the watched as the trees sped by, occasionally talking to Eliza.

When they arrived at the motel, Rose and Jackie immediately retreated to their room, the Doctor walking around outside in the small garden the motel provided. Once he'd gone to his room, which was next door to the girl's, and Jackie was fast asleep, Eliza crept into their room, seeing Rose pacing around the room with the bundle in her arms.

"Has she eaten yet?" Eliza asked, making Rose jump a little slightly, quickly rousing the dozing baby. Receiving a cold glare in reply, she added, "Oh, c'mon, Rose. I only asked if she'd had something to eat." Rose shook her head, not replying verbally. Sighing, Eliza reached inside her coat and took out a bag; inside held milk filled bottles, nappy equipment and a small, TARDIS blue blanket. "The milk's fresh."

Eying the bottle carefully, Rose extended her arm for it. "Thank you," she said quietly, surprised to see it was warm. The baby latched into the bottle immediately, taking everything she could. Rose gave a tiny smile. She'd missed out of a whole _year _of doing this. Feeding her child, clothing her, loving her. It'd all been ripped away before she got the chance to do any of it. Sure, Eliza was sorry for what she did, but that still didn't change the fact that she did it. She'd missed her little girl, and she was never going to let her out of her arms again.

"I'd rethink about that, if I were you," Eliza warned. "I know you mean that hypothetically, I mean, you've only just got her back, but you've got to accept some help."

"What do you mean?" Rose asked as she sat down on her bed.

Eliza gave a small chuckled, replying, "She's half Human, half Time Lord, right? That is going to apply to her habits, too. Take sleeping for example. Time Lords can go for a week, maybe even two, without sleep, whereas humans need it every night. I know she's still a baby now, but she'll only need about three hours of sleep a night, and that need will decrease as she grows."

"I'll be able to handle it," Rose replied stubbornly as the baby continued drinking.

"That's the thing, Rose, you won't," Eliza told her sternly. "You're a human, sleep is more important than food. You need rest."

Rose looked down at her child as she went past the half way mark on her bottle. She shook her head, mumbling, "I won't leave her alone."

"And she wont be alone," Eliza assured. "You're forgetting that she's the Doctor's baby, too, and he's exactly the same as her. He's going to need less sleep, he can watch her." Eliza gave a weak smile when Rose shook her head slowly. "Why not? She's his baby, too."

"He's not," she said quietly. "He's not her dad. The Doctor is, not _him_."

"Oh, God…" Eliza muttered, running a hand through her hair frustratingly. "Just do what I told him; think of this as regeneration. It did take you a while to accept he was still the Doctor after his first change."

"That's because he was still the Doctor," Rose snapped unintentionally. "He's… not. He's a _copy,_ not the real thing."

"And yet he could tell you something the real Doctor couldn't," Eliza replied reasonably. Rose continued to stare down at her child at that comment, tears bouncing to her eyes. Sitting down on her bed, she took the bottle away, which was now empty, and placed the baby on her knee, gently rubbing her lower back as she held her stomach to stop her from falling foreword. Cringing, Eliza brought out a small flannel from her bag, handing it to Rose. "One, you're doing it wrong," she told her. She took Rose's hand and placed it on the baby's upper back, leading the other one near the small infants throat, placing the flannel around her hand. "And two, you're going to need that- a little more careful," Eliza winced as Rose rubbed the baby's back a little roughly.

Eliza's comment seemed to get to Rose as a few tears streamed down her cheeks. Looking down at the small baby in her arms, she hesitantly lifted her up, looking at Eliza. Taking the hint, Eliza took the flannel and placed it over her own hand, sitting down on the bed and placing the baby on her knee, as Rose had done, patting and rubbing the child on the back, only more gently.

Rose lied down on her bed, taking a deep, long yawn as she watched her child give a small burp. "Why couldn't he say it?" she asked weakly.

"Because he knew you would run after him if he did," Eliza replied. "He knew about this one," she gestured the baby. "That's no life for him, or the child, and you know that. You'll grow old, he'll stay young and eventually regenerate. He'd have to watched you and his child and even his grand children die slowly, and it would break him into millions of tiny little pieces," she took a low breath as the baby gave a long yawn, but her eyes still flittering around the room in curiosity. "It's so much easier this way. He's giving you something he could never have; life on the slow path. I know you don't like it, but you'd better get used to it. It's not just you or the Doctor you have to think about now, right?"

Rose gave a small nod, her eye lids drooping, finally snapping to a close after a full five minutes. Eliza smiled lightly, picking the baby up so she was cuddled in her arms, looking up at her. "Y'know, you're not as cute as you think you are," Eliza told the young infant. The baby gave a light chuckle, something a normal human baby wouldn't be able to do at only three days old. "Don't give me all that," Eliza scoffed. "You think you're the most adorable thing in the world. Look at you. Too much hair, chubby cheeks and no teeth. Ask yourself something; is that the recipe of cuteness?" In reply, all the baby did was gurgle, giving another yawn and continuing to look up at her kidnaper. "Yeah, okay," Eliza laughed.


	2. Chapter 2

As the soft, tiny snores erupted from Jackie Tyler, the young, still awake woman checked to see that both seemingly resting in the room were sound asleep. Once she found their minds were silent, Eliza walked towards the door, quietly opening it and slipping outside, closing it gently as the baby in her arms gave a small gurgle. Not even knocking on the door, Eliza's eyes glowed a soft blue as she opened it with her mind, doing the same closing it. Eliza was frequently told that this method of doing things was incredibly lazy, and she had to agree, but old habits die hard, she would always reply.

She found the Doctor sitting in a chair next to the window, staring up at the black space which he once wondered. On his lap lay a tiny clump of TARDIS coral, which he was to grow. His hand rested on top of the coral, the low vibe lulling at his mind peacefully.

"You look tired," Eliza noted at she sat down on the bed, readjusting the baby in her arms. "You know, considering you're only a few hours old."

"Is that meant to be a joke?" the Doctor replied, tearing his eyes away from the window. Noticing the bundle in her arms, he turned the chair to face them, resting his feet next to Eliza.

"Maybe," Eliza admitted with a shrug. "But I take it it wasn't that funny," giving a sigh, she noticed the Doctor staring at the baby. "Wanna hold her?"

Turning a pale white slightly, the Doctor opened his mouth several times, words refusing to emerge from his lips. Chuckling, Eliza took his feet from the bed, tapping the empty space with her free arm. Slowly, he tiptoed in the vacant space and sat down, arranging his arms to take the… his child.

Carefully, Eliza transferred the tiny human into the arms of her father, rubbing her aching limb. The Doctor, however, was transfixed. He stared into the eyes of the baby, herself examining his face. When he was told Rose had bared his child, he was… sad. Guilty. Tearful. He was a father again, and he was never going to see his and Rose's creation. Their little miracle. The both of them were stuck on a parallel earth, million and trillions of miles away from his grasp. It wasn't fair. But now, he just felt lucky, and grateful that his Time Lord counterpart had dumped him here. For the first time since he'd been on this world, he gave a small smile as a single, loan tear rolled down his cheek and onto the tiny hand, the baby examining the wet substance in wonder. "Thank you," the Doctor croaked to his old friend.

"No problem," Eliza replied. "She's your kid, too." The Doctor nodded as he set his baby on his knee, letting her look around the room. He looked over at Eliza, taking his chance to register the differences in her since they had last met. For one thing, she was a lot taller, her eyes were older, wiser, and her hair was now at shoulder length. "How old are you?" he asked.

Eliza laughed as she moved to sit in the chair. "Still rude, then? I guess you would be, considering your new parents." The Doctor winced at the thought of his red headed best friend being, technically, his mother, but he quickly discarded the thought. "I'm twenty-two next May," she ended.

"Twenty-two?" the Doctor gaped. He knew she was older, but not that much older.

"Tell me about it," Eliza nodded. "A lot has happened the past few years. A lot of things," she brought her hand back into her coat and took from around her neck a necklace, on it a few charms, a replica of her old TARDIS key, and a ring, which the Doctor was most intrigued in. Separating the ring from the rest of the items, Eliza gave a shy smile as he inspected it. "Eliza, this is a wedding ring."

In response, Eliza looked at the ring in wonder, mockingly replying, "Really?" she reached over and took another ring from the clutter of items. "This one's the engagement ring."

The Doctor stared in shook, looking between her and the two rings. Eliza, his long term nuisance, pain, and always sarcastic friend… got married? She was married? Too many questions ran through the Doctor's head at that point. The Doctor shook his head. "So… who- who…erm…"

Eliza began giggling at his stuttering and shocked expression. She didn't really expect anything less. After all, she wasn't really the marrying type when they were travelling together. Taking her left glove off, she removed the wedding ring from the necklace, slipping it onto her finger. Expecting it happily, she supplied, "I can't really tell you his name, timelines and stuff. We got married nearly a year ago."

"Well, good for you," the Doctor smiled. "And does he know about… well, you?"

"Ohhhh, yeah," Eliza chuckled. "That was bad timing on my part, to be fair. Told him on our wedding night. Long story short, it completely killed the moo-"

"Okay, I get the picture," the Doctor grimaced, not wanting the mental image of his young friend- his _daughter... _Of course, he couldn't really talk. He'd been married before. Looking down at the child in his arms, he bounced his knee gently. "How long have you known?" he asked. "About the baby?"

"Since I got my memories back," Eliza replied honestly. "I saw all the timelines, things from the past, everything. That baby is a fixed point in time, why do you think I was always trying to get you two together?"

"I thought you were just trying to play match maker," the Doctor shrugged. "This isn't going to be easy, is it?"

"Who said raising a child was easy?" Eliza muttered, mostly to herself. "This little girl is a mix of Human and Time Lord. She's going to have qualities of each; no shit it's not going to be easy," she joked. Remembering something, she gave a cheeky smile, slipping her hand into her pocket. "Close your eyes," she told the Doctor, who hesitantly did as he was ordered. He felt her take his hand and open it, placing a cold, metal object in his palm. He didn't even have to open his eyes to know what it was. The familiar weight, length and feel of it was enough. He grasped his trusty weapon in his hand, a soft smile appearing on his lips. He opened his eyes to see his Sonic Screwdriver lodged into his fist. He looked back up to Eliza, who was mimicking his smile. "You stole this?" he accused.

"Not at all," Eliza frowned, nearly hurt at his comment. "Listen, Gramps, I may be many things, but I am not a thief. When Rose was using the Dimension Canon, I was following her, making sure she ended up in the right places, you know. In one of the Universes, you sort of… died. You didn't need it anymore, so I just took it." She took the device from his hand, playing with it, flicking through the settings. "It has all the functions as your last one did, maybe even more, I th-" Stopping mid sentence, she dropped the Sonic onto the floor, bolting towards the bathroom, the Doctor bringing to baby back into his arms and following her, stopping just outside the room when he heard his friend emptying the contents of her stomach into the toilet.

After a minute or two, he entered the bathroom, sitting on the edge of the bath as she rested her head on the toilet seat as she ground. She murmured something unrecognisable, flushing the toilet and reaching up to grab a toothbrush and paste.

The Doctor however, was summing things up in his head. Everything she'd done since they had arrived in Pete's World, all seemed to add up. When he and Eliza were outside in the garden, the amount she ate was nearly terrifying, now she was throwing up? Playing with the settings on his screwdriver, he pressed the button softly as he pointed it toward her, his eyes widening at the pink glow it gave. He gave her a shocked expression, looking between her and the Sonic. "Don't gimme tha'" Eliza chastised as she spat out the toothpaste. "I might take offence."

"Eliza, you're pregnant," the Doctor whispered.

Giving him an even stare, she began clapping her hands slowly as she sat down on the toilet seat. "I'm two months along," she told him as she fingered her wedding ring. "He was over the moon when I told him."

"You're pregnant," he said blankly, readjusting the baby in his arms.

Laughing slightly, she nodded. "Found out like four weeks ago. Got told I had to lay low for a while, stay away from danger and stuff."

"You're pregnant," he repeated lamely.

Sighing, Eliza leaned back on the toilet, crossing her arms over her chest. "Yes, Doctor, I'm pregnant. With child. Expecting."

It was so strange to the Doctor. True, he only knew Eliza was his daughter for a year, but he was still her guardian for a lot longer than that. Finding out that she was going to be a mother, resulting in him being a grand-father again, it was surreal. Nearly unbelievable. He had burnt and destroyed his home planet and, in result, his family as well. The fact that he'd been blessed with his daughter, and soon, grandchildren, it was just too good to be true. This was impossible. But then again, he did like impossible.

"Well…" the Doctor stammered. "Congratulations."

Eliza gave a weak smile, looking down at the child in his arms. "You're going to have to have rules, you know," she claimed. "That's not any regular kid. She's a fixed point."

Looking down at the small baby in his arms, the Doctor marvelled at the wide eyes looking back up at him. She made an unintelligent noise before looking over to Eliza. "Rules like what?" The Doctor asked as he handed his child to her.

"Well," Eliza started as she took the baby and set her on her knee. "Rules like certain names. She needs to keep the name Tyler, for instance. She needs a low ranking Gallifreyan middle name, stuff like that."

"Does Rose know of these rules?" the Doctor asked cautiously.

"She's asleep," Eliza replied dismissively. "You'll have to tell her in the morning. I have to go."

"I'll be seeing you again, though?" the Doctor asked hopefully.

Eliza gave a chuckled, bouncing the small baby on her lap as she looked at her intently. "Oh yeah," she sniggered. "I'll always be around. Can't get rid of me, you can't." She handed the baby back to him, giving him a farewell hug. "See you later, Gramps, and tell Rose I'm sorry again, will you?"

Nodding, the Doctor watched as Eliza walked out of the room, a blue light eliminating the hallway, showing him she'd left. He looked down at his child, wondering where in all of the Universe he'd gotten his luck from. Noticing she was yawning widely, he began to sing an old Gallifreyan lullaby to her, all the while considering names for his and Rose's little miracle as she began to slowly drift off to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

As the glistening light filled the dark room, Rose lazily awoke to the sounds of birds twittering outside her window. She frowned in confusion at the birds alone. She didn't have many trees or bushes around where she lived, why would there be any birds flying around?

Before peeking an eye open to investigate further, she quickly noted the way her body ached. She was no stranger to this feeling. Working for Torchwood had this effect on her, especially her recent job of using the new Dimension Cannons. Transporting her body to a different Universe every so often was difficult at first, but she soon learned to adjust. However, the way she struggled to lift herself from her bed was very much like the first time she had used the cannon.

Once she was in a sitting position on her bed, she gingerly opened her eyes. Rose silently took in the room and quickly found she was in a hotel, which might have explained the birds outside her bedroom window. Putting her legs to good use, she crept off the bed and nearly toppled over, had the wall not been in the way. Looking down to what had tripped her over, her confusion grew when she saw a baby travel bag, which was filled with bottles, changing essentials and clothes small enough to fit a new born baby.

Quickly after discovering the bag, memories of the previous day came rushing back to her in a hurry. Scanning the room hastily, she noted that neither Eliza, nor her baby were in the room. She mentally cursed herself, remembering what Eliza had done. She fallen asleep again, and now the baby was gone- again! Idiot! Locating the door, she flew through it as she looked for her mother and the Doctor-

_No… not the Doctor…_ Rose thought to herself as she slowed down. She stopped in the middle of the hallway for a good few moments, thinking about what had happened the day before. The Daleks, Davros, the Metacrisis.

With that new thought in mind, she took a slow pace as she walked towards the stairs, the new Doctor's voice coming into ear shot. Well, new, new, new Doctor.

* * *

The strong aroma of sausages and eggs filled her nose as she looked into the small café the hotel provided, the sight of the Doctor, her mother and the small infant in her arms bringing a small smile to her face. She felt a pang in her chest. She'd missed a year of this, waking up in the morning and spending time with her daughter. Everyday since her precious baby had been taking away from her, she beaten herself up. She should have seen Eliza's eagerness for Rose to sleep that day, but she didn't. She'd closed her eyes and had fallen into a peaceful slumber.

Making her presence known, she walked toward the party of three, her eyes quickly attaching to the Doctor as he greeted her a good morning. She gave a smile and nodded in reply as she took a seat next to her mother, silently opening her arms for her child. Jackie smiled in understanding as she passed her grand-daughter over, watching carefully as Rose held her. "Have a good sleep, darlin'?"

"Yeah," Rose nodded as she took her eyes away from the baby in her arms. "For once, I actually feel refreshed, awake. How did this one sleep?" she gestured the baby, her brown eyes looked up curiously.

"Good," the Doctor muttered. Rose looked up at his sharply, and he shrugged innocently. "Got four hours in, more than I expected." He looked down at the infant- who was looking around the café- then looked back up at Rose. "We have a lot to discuss about her."

Rose nodded silently, taking the marmalade smothered toast offered to her gladly. Something told her he wanted to talk about more than just her daughter.

* * *

The Doctor had always loved exploring, finding things to fix, but exploring a zeppelin that had nothing to repair was quite different indeed. He watched as the flock of birds passed without a care in the world, keeping that 'V' shape perfectly. Looking back down to his book, he ignored the opening of the doors behind him, expecting it was one of the staff members or an odd passenger or two. However, he wasn't all too surprised to see Rose hesitantly sit down in one of the chairs opposite him. Looking up to acknowledge her, he memorised the place in his book and set it aside. "How much longer until he reach London?" he asked as he placed the book on the coffee table in front of him.

Rose shrugged slightly as she looked out the window. "At least another five hours, Arthur said. Erm, the pilot's name is Arthur, so…" she trailed off. The Doctor nodded, smiling to himself slightly.

There was a long moment of silence between the two, Rose insisting to busy herself with looking out the window while the Doctor insisted on looked at her. He took in all the changes about her, listing every small detail that was different about her. He noticed she didn't wear as much makeup as she used to, she looked to have a much more muscle build than at Canary Wharf, probably due to Torchwood training, and she seemed… older. Not just in appearance, but mentally as well. She seemed wiser, more knowledgeable. He knew it must have been a long, difficult journey for her to turn from the young woman to an adult. The Doctor could only guess the true cause of this transformation was the baby's kidnapping, which Jackie had told him in more detail earlier that morning. For Rose to be separated from him first, then to lose his child to the one person who was there for her, helped her... it must have been difficult. The Doctor knew for a fact that's what would have pushed him over the edge.

"So what do we need to talk about?" Rose asked, taking her eyes away from the window and toward him, bringing him out of his train of thought. "You said we needed to talk about her."

"Yeah," the Doctor agreed as one of the staff members placed two cups of coffee in front of them. Nodding his appreciation, he wrapped the warm mug in his cold hands. "A lot of things, actually; but first and foremost, I want to know what's happening with... well, us, I suppose."

Rose let out a small sigh. This was not a conversation she wanted to have, not now, anyway. But she knew if it didn't happen now it never would. "I need time to get used to everything," she said pathetically. "Having her back, getting around the fact I have to _stay_ here, getting used to you..."

"You think this is any easier for me?" the Doctor asked gently. "We both have a lot to get used to, Rose." She only nodded in reply, placing her hands together in her lap, tension rolling off of her. Setting the cup down on the table, he cleared his throat. "How about we start again? As friends?" he offered. "I don't want her growing up in an environment where we're always edging around each other."

Rose considered this for a few moments, before realising he was right. It wasn't fair on her. She gave a smile and a curt nod. The Doctor smiled in turn, holding his hand out. "I'm the Doctor," he offered jokingly. Rose's smile increased as she took it, giving it a shake. "Rose Tyler," she laughed. Instantly, she felt a whole lot better about the whole situation whilst the Doctor began rambling, like he always did.

As the day wore on, the pair of them talked about everything and nothing; what Rose had done since Canary Wharf, what he'd done since Bad Wolf Bay, Jackie, Pete and Tony, Jason, Martha and Donna. They went on for hours and hours, the kitchen staff coming in every once in a while to refill their cups and plates, the Doctor finding that he still had his love of banana's on toast.

The conversation lasted for hours, Rose making a quiet discovery near the end... he was still the same. He was still the Doctor. Every little detail about him screamed this tiny fact at her; how he ran his hand through his hair when he was frustrated, how he tended to ramble on and on about subjects she didn't particularly care about, but listened anyway just to hear his voice, and how much incredible detail he would describe one of their past journeys. He talked about them as if they had only happened yesterday. By the end, it was difficult to see him as a different person.

When Arthur the Pilot announced over the tannoy they would be arriving in London in an hour, Jackie walked in with a bundle in her arms. "She's such a sweetheart," Jackie announced as she cooed at the infant, herself gurgling back in reply as she played with her granny's necklace. "I'd love to hold her all day, but I'm going to take a quick nap before we land. Would one of you take her?"

The Doctor and Rose both looked to each other, him asking for permission as Rose offered. Jackie, taking no notice of this, quickly handed the baby over to Rose. "Brilliant," she said, taking one of the biscuits provided and walking from the room.

Rose chuckled at her mother's ignoring nature as she stood from the chair, gingerly walking toward the Doctor as he sat up a bit more, gently taking the baby from Rose's arms. She looked down at the sight briefly, smiling in spite of herself. The Doctor's hand went to the baby's temple quickly, and he sighed happily as Rose sat down in the chair beside him.

"That's another thing we have to talk about," he murmured. "I've been told we have to stick to certain rules, fixed points and all that." He looked down at the baby in his arms, considering what name she could have, then remembered Eliza's words and nodded confidently. "I know this is incredibly cheeky-"

"I'm used to it," Rose cut him off.

"Oi!" he exclaimed as she chuckled, motioning him to continue. "I know this is cheeky, and I really shouldn't be asking this, but is it alright if I name her?"

"Why is that cheeky?" Rose asked. She took a moment as she thought about her next words carefully. Discovering he was the spitting image of her Doctor, had the same memories as him was one thing, but actually accepting it was another. She shook her head, biting her lip as she looked over at the two across from her. It looked so perfect, his arms protectively surrounding her little girl as her soft brown eyes met those of her father's, his smile as her tiny hands reached up to touch his scratchy chin. Taking a breath, she muttered quietly, "She's your daughter."

"What happened to 'he's not you'?" he asked, a little more harshly than he intended. Rose thought for a few seconds, muttered quietly, "Maybe I was wrong," she admitted.

The Doctor smiled inwardly at her words, how easily she could now say them and how much he could tell she meant them. He took her hand in his free one, giving it a squeeze as he looked down at the baby, the now perfect name filling his mind as she looked up at him, as if she were waiting as well. Receiving another squeeze from Rose, he said confidently, "Rivianna Mytharil Tyler."

**_A.N: Oki, here's da ting. I'll be going on holiday soon for the next couple of weeks, and I wont have much time for updating, so I'm going to upload a new chapter every Saturday and my other story every Monday. So yeah... hope you enjoyed :) _**


	4. Chapter 4

_Three years… _the Doctor thought quietly to himself as he swung back in his chair, glancing over at the TARDIS Coral that was sitting dormantly in the corner of the dimly lit basement, much to his worry and disappointment. It had been three years since he'd arrived in the Parallel World. Three quiet, peaceful, and quite frankly, boring years. Well, boring in the aspect of he hadn't travelled at all during the last thirty eight months. He looked down from the baby TARDIS, at the little girl that was tracing her fingers up and down the patterns of the Coral, giggling quietly when they vibrated under her fingertips. Her soft, brown eyes glowed blue as the Coral reached out to her, nudging whatever consciousness it had with hers.

That was one part of the three years that was _not _boring. After decades since he destroyed Gallifrey, he had his family back, he had someone to connect his mind with; he was no longer lonely as he once was. Well, in more ways than one. He and Rose had rekindled their… _friendship_ during the past year, moving into a small house together four months into the relationship. He hadn't been this happy in a long time.

There was one thing he'd missed more than anything, however. He missed travelling, flying the TARDIS. He missed the worlds, the galaxies, ,the different people he would meet each time. And now, with a whole new Universe to explore, he couldn't wait until the new TARDIS to mature enough to fly. However, with some of the materials he need missing, the TARDIS had grown to a complete stand still, not growing or changing by any mean. Even more worrying, it no longer had that blue glow, the vibe of life it'd had for the first two years of growing. _That's _when the Doctor should have noticed it; his daughter's sudden firm attachment to the baby TARDIS.

"Daddy," came a small voice, ripping the Doctor from his train of thought. "When are we going to Nana's?" The Doctor looked over to his daughter as her bright eyes looked up to him, her light brown hair sprawled around her face.

One person that was extremely happy Rose and her daughter were back was Jackie Tyler. She had often told the Doctor how much she wanted to hit him for making Rose travel across the void to find him, in result causing her worry as much as she did. Now that the pair of them were safe and out of harm's way, she was happier, less stressed. However, she did chastise him for his 'stupid choice of names' and nicknamed her grand-daughter Rivi.

"When mummy gets back from work," the Doctor replied tiredly, swiftly brushing his fingers through his thick mop of hair.

True, at first the Doctor was opposed the idea of Rose returning to Torchwood, using the excuse over and over again that it was way too dangerous. But after the promise from Pete that she would only be doing light field and paper work, also helping with the number of aliens that were in the base, he was a lot more comfortable letting her walk out of the front door every day. He made an appearance every so often at Pete's request, usually to study an artefact or identify an new species they had not come across before.

The young girl sighed quietly to herself as she looked back down at the Coral, which was sitting safely on a small stool. She would never admit it, but she always missed-_craved_ for her mother when she was away. Her eyes gave another dim glow as she looked up at the Coral, sulking silently to herself.

The Doctor looked to her sympathetically as he rose from the seat, crawling his way over to her. "C'mon," he fastened his hand on her shoulder. "She'd be back soon," he said encouragingly as he kissed her on the side of her forehead.

"You need a shave," she replied as she reached up, stroking his chin roughly with the stubble. There was a silence between the two, little Rivi staring into space (literally), the way she always did when she wasn't 'fully here', as she described it. "Gran-gran used to say that," she continued once she looked back up at him. "Even when you were little she called you scruffy."

"No, hun," the Doctor smiled at her. "You're grand-ma Jackie didn't know me when I was a little boy." She didn't reply instantly, just looked up at her father with the saddest eyes she could. Suddenly, the Doctor saw who she meant; the woman who had haunted his dreams many a time, the woman who had raised him, helped him through his first life; his own mother. She looked down at him, that unmistakable stern glint in her eye warning him to behave himself, as it always did.

He gave his daughter another warm smile, picking her up as she wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him closely as he brought her to sit in his lap. "You want to hear stories about your old Gran-Gran?"

* * *

An hour later, after many stories had been told (most of them including the Doctor being scolded for something he'd done), the doorbell rang. Placing little Rivi down by the Coral once again, he bolted up the stairs towards the front door. Catching his sleeve on the basement door (as he always did), he unhooked the clothe, cursing once again that he needed to replace the doorknob. Opening the door, Rose's smiling, tired face greeted him. He opened the door wider as she went in for a hug, himself greeting, "Forgot your keys again, love?"

"Shut up," she laughed, kissing him sweetly before she broke away from the hug and walked toward the kitchen, setting a bag down on the unit as she reached for the kettle. "Good day?"

"Decent," he replied as he sat down at the table, fiddling with one of the frayed ends. "Same story, different day," he ended, his thoughts going towards the non-growing TARDIS again.

"Oh, c'mon," Rose said half heartedly. Setting the quarter filled kettle back on the heater, she stood behind him as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Things will get better. She'll start growing again soon, you'll see. How's Rivi?"

"Same as always," he replied as he looked up at her. "Quiet, wants to be around the Coral as much as she can..."

"Don't. Worry," Rose told him again as she loosened the arms around him. "She's at that age, she's just curious about it. Also she can do the... the thought thingy with it, that's all," she ended as she kissed him again. As she pulled away, he palmed the back of her neck, keeping her firmly in place as he breathed her in. Sitting down in his lap, she snaked her arms around his shoulders, gripping them tightly as she felt his tongue swipe along her bottom lip, his hands wrapping around her waste.

Then they heard it. The _scream_. The Doctor more felt it rather than heard it, and broke the kiss quickly as his head snapped toward the basement door. Another ear-bursting scream emitted from the basement, which was unmistakably Rivi. Rose quickly shot off the Doctor's lap and headed hastily toward the door, the Doctor himself hot on her heels. Galloping down the stairs, he was dumbstruck at the sight before him.

The stool the Coral sat on was tipped over, the TARDIS itself on its side on the floor, Rivi laying beside it as she curled into a tiny ball, covering her head with her arms as she sobbed. Rose was at her side immediately, desperately attempting to pry her arms away as the Doctor noticed a bone chilling fact about the baby Coral; it was glowing. The soft, blue glow had returned, giving the room an eliminating flash every time it pulsated.

He crawled toward his daughter, Rose panicking as Rivi refused to move her arms. He sent soothing images and emotions to her, slowly feeling her reluctant-ness to move slowly disappear. "I can't see..." she whined, her statement muffled by her covered mouth. He slowly and carefully brought the girl into his lap, patting her back to calm her.

Eventually, she moved her arms, Rose gasping at the sight. Her eyes- which were once a soft, beautiful chocolate brown- were now an icy white. "Daddy?" she asked, her hand going to his scrappy chin. "Daddy, I can't see," she sobbed again. "He said he wanted by help, that he needed me..."

Rose, who had tears in her own brown eyes, muttered quietly, "What do you mean, Rivi? What needed-"

"The TARDIS Coral," the Doctor cut her off, the pulsating blue suddenly looking sickening to him. "It'd ran out of the TARDIS' energy to grow so it used hers. The Cub's." He looked back at Rivi, at the ghostly dull look she was giving, and quietly picked her up, calmly telling Rose to get the car keys. He walked towards the basement stairs, looking back at the Coral in disgust, berating himself bruising. This was _his _fault... had he noticed the Coral's attraction to Rivi, he would have moved the Coral. Heck, had he not been so desperate to get out of his Parallel Earth this wouldn't have happened.

As he fastened the seat belt around himself and Rivi, Rose starting the car to hastily get to Torchwood, to the doctors, he slowly but surely felt her mind, the mental communication he shared with her, he telepathy, go completely blank, his head becoming empty once again.


	5. Chapter 5

_Six months… _Rose thought as she sat next to her daughter's bed at the Torchwood Medical Bay. Rivi had been lying, still as a statue in that bed, for a little over six months. Rose had gone passed the stage of tears by this time; she just wanted her little girl back. She'd stop by everyday with the Doctor to visit her, getting daily updates on her progress- or _lack _of progress as it were.

_It had taken ten minutes to get to the Torchwood Medical Bay, the doctor's taking their little girl away from them quickly; Rose beginning to panic immensely as the Doctor put his arm around her in comfort, whispering that everything was going to be okay. She turned to him, crying into his shoulder. One of the female doctor's had approached them, asking quickly and calmly what had happened. _

_As the Doctor began to explain, unnerving thoughts crossed Rose's mind; What if her little girl didn't make it? Three years wasn't enough, not for the time she'd spent looking for her. She wasn't sure if she could take losing her baby again…_

_They'd spent the night in the Torchwood facilities, being asked every once in a while if they wanted a tea of coffee, sometimes something to eat. Rose couldn't eat. She wasn't sure if her stomach could hold it down. She snuggled closer into the Doctor's neck as he stared up at the ceiling, unable to get any sleep himself. Not too long after, one of the senior doctor's approached, taking a seat in front of them. Rose sat up, wanting to pay close attention._

"_She's fine for the time being," he had reported. "We've not seen anything like this before; it's like she's in some form of coma. From what you've told us, John, she was born with a deity?" The Doctor nodded, having to remember to answer to 'John'. "We've only seen one case of this, and from what our studies have shown, we know deities aren't supposed to be…__**ripped **__from people the way this one was. It's just like her body's just… shut itself down; repairing itself. We'll keep her on life support just in case, but all we can do is to wait for her to wake up." _

Rose replayed the conversation in her head, hoping there was something she was missing, that the doctor's had given her a time scale of when Rivi would wake up. She knew, however, she was fooling herself. For the past half a year, she had wished that this were all just a bad dream, that she'd wake up truly to her little girl, her big, brown eyes looking up at her.

She placed Rivi tiny hand in her own, silently stroking the fingers of the three year old as she slept peacefully.

* * *

The Doctor, needless to say, was tired. He'd spent countless nights trying and testing ways to extract the deity from the TARDIS Coral, trying to return to his daughter what was hers. Often throughout these sleepless nights, Eliza's voice ran through his head as he worked.

_"I was born with this power, Doctor,"_ she had told him once, after he had offered to take away the Cub._ "If you take it away, you'll kill me, and that will change many things for the future." _The Doctor always wondered if things would change. Eliza didn't seem to remember having her power taken from her, and if she did she defiantly didn't tell him about it. Wouldn't she warn him about something like this? Maybe this... 'Cycle' she mentioned had something to do with it? She did say it was changing, after all. Maybe this was the time where she didn't-

No. Eliza wouldn't let something like that happen; she said so herself. Something's need to go on, and if he knew his old nuisance as well as he thought he did, she would everything she could to interfere, to make things the way that they should be.

* * *

The Doctor found himself wondering aimlessly in the Torchwood facilities, his feet unconsciously making their way to the Medical Bay, as his mind thought over and over on what he could use or try to get his daughter back. After a short while, he saw Rose, her back to him as she stared at their daughter, whose eyes were shut. He placed a hand on her shoulder, giving a squeeze in greeting as she looked back at him and smiled, giving his hand a nudge with her cheek. "Anything?" he asked hopelessly.

"No progress," Rose denied as he sat down on the edge of the bed. "She's just lying there; she hasn't moved an inch," she ended with a sigh and a hand through her hair. "What about you?" He shook his head in reply as he looked down at Rivi, her chest moving in a breathing motion, thanks to the machine helping her. He gave a mental spit as he thought about his daughter living on life support. No three year old should have to use life support to be kept alive. What worried him more than anything, however, was that her mind was deathly silent. It was visible, he could feel her, but barely. It was so small he believed that if he even tried to make contact, she would break.

There was a long moments silence, which was broken by Rose's gasp. She stood up quickly from her chair, bringing her hands to her side. The Doctor frowned as he looked up at her in confusion. "She.. she twitched..." Rose muttered as she looked down at her daughter in shook, nearly not believing what she'd felt.

Soon after, one of the female doctor's of the Bay was next to the monitor near the bed, a smile appearing on her lips. "Captain, we have brain activity," she said in glee, turning the monitor for the two to see, pointing out certain points of the colourful object on the screen, Rose's own smile growing with every second. The Doctor continued to stare at the young girl, gently, almost uncertainly, touching her consciousness with his. There was no reply. The Doctor tried again, being more abrupt than careful, having the same result.

He gave a sigh, taking his eyes away from the sleeping face, looking down at the ground as he cupped his hands on his knee's. Then he felt it; the emptiness being slowly filled. He snapped his neck back up at the sleeping figure as he felt the nudge, something he'd missed about her more than anything. "Yeah," he concluded to the woman and Rose as he ran his hand through Rivi's hair. "She's waking up," he ended with a small laugh as his mind began to feel much less lonely, his daughter's nose twitching slightly like a rabbit's.

* * *

It was hours until she fully woke up, hours filled with little nudges and telepathic complaints that she couldn't move; she couldn't see. The Doctor did what he could to calm her, sending her images of himself and her mother, there in the Medical Bay with her, but she typically took more notice of the empty food tray next to the bed, her easily side tracked mind mentioning she was hungry.

When she first opened her eyes for he first time in six months, the Doctor could have sworn Rose would have burst into tears. To his own surprise, she didn't, she only took a deep breath at the white, blind eyes that were staring up at her as she stroked her daughters cheek gently. Jackie, however, broke the sweet moment as soon as she entered the room. "Oh my gosh, she's awake!" she screamed as she ran into the room, bowing over the bed to get a close look at her grand daughter, Tony coming in close behind her, quietly looking over to see if his niece was okay.

It was only a week later when the Medical Bay said that the Doctor and Rose could take her home, much to their happiness. But the Doctor couldn't help but feel something was... _off _about Rivi. She wasn't as talkative since the incident, and one thing that Rivi couldn't be described as was too quiet. He would ask about it when they got home; he decided. There was no need to worry Rose any further.


	6. Chapter 6 IMPORTANT UPDATE

It had been five weeks since Rivi had awakened, four since she had returned home to her family's quiet, little house. Jackie was estatic that her grand- baby was out of the Torchwood Medical Bay, as was Rose… at first. Her daughter was home, safe, but as the days passed, she noticed Rivi's unnaturally silent mood. She wouldn't anything to either of her parents, and could go for a few days on end without uttering a word. It made Rose feel horrible, knowing that her child was in such a saddening mood and wouldn't even speak to her; that she couldnt do anything about it.

The Doctor had noticed too, but much more earlier than Rose. Rivi's mind was blank most of the time, she wouldn't bother attempting to speak with him, not even telepathically. She spent most of the time in the living room, silently listening to whatever was on the television. Any questions asked to her would be answered with a slow nod or a shack of the head, or wouldn't be answered at all. It didn't take too long to find what was wrong; she was depressed. When he discovered this at first, he was sickened at the thought. A three year old _should not _be depressed, and it didn't take a master mind to figure out why.

Since she had been born, she'd had someone with her wherever she was, the presence of the deity forever filling her mind; keeping her company. It was her first friend and family member that she knew and everything she could... _see_ came through the Cub. Now it was gone, and she was alone. Plus the fact the loss of her sight made her less… well, everything. She was more dependent on everyone, she couldn't even feed herself without help anymore. She needed a guide for everything she did, which she really didn't want. And thus, she sufficed for sitting motionless on the sofa day in and day out.

To top off the Doctor's worries, the Coral had stopped growing, and the blue dim glow that it gave was slowly diminishing, the Cub getting further and further away from his grasp; the key to getting rid of his daughter's sadness, her loneliness. As the days wore on, he could feel the Coral's life- Rivi's energy- wasting away into nothing. His time was almost up, and he'd made no progress.

He sat in the basement, leaning foreword as his hands gripped his hair in frustration. He'd tried _everything. _He'd gone through too many sleepless nights, gone for days no end without eating a proper meal, no matter how much Rose had begged him. He only needed something every once in a while, just something to keep him sustained. It wasn't until he felt a presence in his mind one later afternoon that he felt some hope.

The Doctor slept fitfully in his chair as the moon shone brightly through the window, lighting up everything in the small room. He couldn't remember what he had dreamt of, only that he was dragged from his slumber by his mind, his just empty mind, becoming full again; or partly anyhow. He sat up in his rickety, wooden chair, nearly falling backwards from the force he'd unintentionally used. Opening his eyes, he just noticed the faint blue that vanished from the room. Looking around, his eyes fell on a young man, clad in a black, long coat. The young man seemed to be cradling something in his left arm, bringing his right up to bring back his hood, revealing himself to be the young boy the Doctor had travelled with; Jason.

The Doctor sighed, hoping for Eliza to show up and shed some light on the grim situation he found himself in. "Hey there," he greeted as Jason put down the bundle, a small squeak coming from the moving jumper. "Birthday present?" he gestured the clothing, a pink and brown nose nudging its way into the open, revealing a very familiar dog.

"Sort of," Jason chuckled, moving the jumper off of the puppy's curious face. The Doctor gave a small grin at the puppy, realising that, technically, he hadn't set eyes on the dog for over a body now. Giving his head a small pat, he let Jason continue. "He's trained and everything, per mother's request. She said he was needed for when she was... well, you know," he pointed to his eyes and twisted his ear lobe uncomfortably, giving the Doctor a sense of relief. This was _supposed _to happen. Rivi's blindness happened before, to Eliza. He gave a sigh as the puppy, Wolf, have his hand a lick. "So there's no need for me to worry much?"

"In the long run, I suppose not," he mused. "But you're going to worry anyways; you are her dad after all. That's kinda what you guys do, I guess." He looked down at the fluffy animal, shaking his head as he chuckled. "Y'know, I wasn't supposed to tell you that," he admitted. "From what I remember her telling me is that you worked and worked and worked to find a way to get the... 'other person' back."

"Oh, don't worry," the Doctor said as he leaned back in his chair. "I have, and then some."

"I can see that," Jason replied quietly, looking around to see different pieces of paper scattered around the room, each holding an endless supply of notes and scruffy handwriting. "Well, I have to go," he continued. Leaning foreword to shake his hand, the Doctor noticed a key; a TARDIS key hanging around Jason's neck. Giving the young man a dangerous look, he chuckled. "Don't worry," he said lightly, taking off the chain. "It's clean, no perception filter. It's just become somewhat of a family tradition now, that's all." He placed the key back around his neck, pulling his hood up in the process. "See you around," he ended, disappearing in a flash.

Sadness filled the Doctor slightly as his mind once again fell quiet, the only mental connection he now had was with the small dog sitting on the floor in front of him, giving himself a bath as his simple mind, the Doctor quickly realised, could not fulfil his wants. "And you're supposed to be trained, huh?" the Doctor muttered to the dog quietly as he whined in reply. Picking the small mammal up from underneath, the Doctor arose from the basement, Wolf not at all liking the way he was being man handled.

* * *

Throughout the quiet, lonely weeks on being back in her home, Rivi decided that her favourite television programme was a documentary. Since her release from Torchwood, it had taught her many things; the wide stretches of space (to which she knew anyway), to the small creatures of this earth (she liked David Attenborough's voice), all the way down to the human body. She remembered a particular documentary about the blind. How once sight is lost, different parts of the body compensate for the lost sense. For instance, she had noticed an increase in hearing, to which she used to tell the time easily... by her mother's soap operas.

When it was 7 o'clock, on most days it was Emmerdale, half past it was Coronation Street, and so forth. Soap Operas, she found, we're her least favourite programmes. She knew all the characters by voice and name, and the story lines weren't... _that _bad, she had to admit. But the real reason she disliked them was because it was the only time her mother would sit down with her. Yes, Rivi knew that she had her reasons. She was an agent in Torchwood and barely had any time off, but these programmes only reminded her of that fact.

From what she could gather, it was a little past 7 o'clock when she heard it. The little squeal coming from her father's basement. Turning her head in direction of the sound, she heard the floorboards creak, telling her that her father had entered the room. "Where the hell do you get that?" her mother exclaimed, Rivi's curiosity edging her to get onto her knee's and lean against the back of the sofa, herself straining to hear what he had.

"I had a guest," he replied, sitting down on the sofa beside her, whatever he had squealing again. "Someone's dropped off a present for you, Rivi." Before she had the change to sit back down, she felt the cushion beneath her sink under the weight of what her father had. Then the funny feeling began; the ticklish _licking_.

Bolting back in surprised, she fell backwards onto her favourite plumb pillow in an attempt to get away from whatever her father had placed beside her, to no avail. She felt the tickling on her face again, this time she shrieked as she kicked it away. There was a small yelp as she reached for her mother whilst her father took it away. "Hey, hey, hey," he said in an attempt to get things controlled.

As Rivi felt the protective arms of her mother encircle her waist, she felt her breathing calm as her father said gently,"There we go. Come on, let's try again-"

"No!" she called, turning around and throwing herself deeper into her mother side. She felt her father frown. "Are you sure, Rivi?" he asked, the squeling in his hands not stopping. Rivi nodded as she tightened her hands around her mother t-shirt, adement she wasn't letting go.

The rest of the night, Rivi had her guard up on full. Whatever her father had gotten her; she didn't like it, not one bit. It was too... tonguey and lickey.

Both her parents had but her to bed that night, leaving the animal downstairs in the kitchen; but Rivi knew better. She could hear the scurrying it made as it climbed the stairs, the little thumping by her bedroom door as it made its way to the top.

Suddenly, the door that had been slightly ajar, opened full swing. She could hear the animal trot in, she could feel the tugs of her blanket beginning to slip away. She held onto it full force, clutching it to her chest as she felt it attempt to climb up onto her bed.

Her heart nearly dropped when she felt the sink in her mattress, the sound of its feet wondering along the bed, up towards her. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she turned over, biting the inside of her lip as the animal sniffed at her and licked her cheek. Then, without further investigation, the animal plumped itself as her back and curled up, making itself comfortable.

Rivi turned around in confusion as she felt the tail of the animal beat against her stomach. Biting her lip again, she reached her hand forward, placing her palm on the animal. It was _fluffy,_ she found as the tail beat her quicker. Very fluffy. She reached around, finding it had four legs. From listening to documetarties all day, she drew the conclusion that what was on her bed was either a cat (which she really hoped it wasnt, from what she heard of them) or a dog (which was the more likely option).

Settling back down in her bed, Rivi felt the mind of this animal go blank as she soon followed it into a seep sleep.

* * *

That morning, when the Doctor had awoken and had gone to wake his daughter up, he was very surprised to see the door open wide. Peeking inside the dark room, a grin broke out on his face as he saw Wolf, his mind filled with rabbit chasing as he dreamt, was entangled in Rivi's arms. Closing the door, he quietly tip toed down stairs, making sure not to disturb the sleeping duo.

It had been a few weeks since Wolf had been dropped off at the Tyler residence, and the Daughter and Dog couldn't have gotten any closer. With Wolf around, Rivi didn't need anyone to help her, to guide her anywhere. He was like her personal guide dog, only she could talk with him. She didn't feel as lonely like she had before.

One thing the Doctor had noticed about Rivi was that her mind was opening up again, her sadness dispersing somewhat. She was even beginning to talk more often now and move about more often. Hope was shinning brightly down at the Doctor as he watched his daughter slip back into happiness, that hope drowning horribly soon after.

* * *

He remembered Jason telling him not o worry, that everything would be alright; but how could it? He had tried _everything _to extract the entity from the TARDIS Coral, and all it had done was shrink in size and look... _dead. _He had already accepted that he growing a new TARDIS was out of the question now, impossible, but he sighed and shook his head in defeat whenever the blue dim would get duller and duller with each passing night. Unknown to him, that was all about to change.

It had been days since he had gotten any sleep, a full day since he had eaten anything. Not even Rose's begging and taking time off work seemed to get him to stop looking for an answer. Finally, after days of working, his hopes diminishing, he retreated to their room, resting his head on the feather pillow. Rose had said 'go to bed', she didn't say 'go to sleep'.

For hours he stayed up, listing what else he could try. It was nearly four in the morning when he heard it; the Buzzing sound. It was a small noise, just loud enough to be irritable. Frowning, he pulled the covers back and threw his legs over the side of the bed as he got to his feet. He could tell the Buzzing was quite far away, at least on the ground floor of the house. Opening the door, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end when he saw that Rivi was doing the same.

Her face neutral, she shut her door as she lazily walked along the landing, her eyes glowing a deep, sea blue. Descending the stairs slowly, the Doctor followed her silently as he watched her every move.

Walking along the wooden floor, she quietly moved towards the basement door, reaching up slightly to grasp the door handle. Opening it swiftly, a blue haze shone through the living room as she walked down towards the basement. Careful not to make his presence know, the Doctor snuck after her, closing the door behind him. Hearing the door being shut, Rivi snapped her head round, her eyes instantly connecting with her father's. Swallowing the lump in his throat, the Doctor suddenly felt as if he couldn't breath.

The Doctor looked away from the young girl, closing his eyes tightly as he got his breathe back. He heard her continue her path and walk down the stairs, her bare feet hitting the cold stone slabs as she finished the stairs. Taking a large breath, he began to follow her, keeping his feet planted firmly on the wooden plants that were the stairs, he watched quietly as Rivi- or whatever was in possession of her- sat in front of the brightly lit TARDIS Coral, stroking the stem gently.

Suddenly, Rivi sat up straight on her knee's as she gasped in pain, a river of blue running from the Coral and into her dull, white eyes. "Rivi?" the Doctor called. It didn't surprise him that she didn't answer, only in a scream as the river was cut off, the rest of the blue disappearing in somewhat of an explosion, causing the Coral to burst into flames, sending Rivi flying across the small room.

In panic, the Doctor ran hastily to his daughter's side, picking her up from under the chair that went with her. Patting her on the back as she struggled to breathe, the Doctor felt his mind being filled once again with the same essence that was Rivi's mind. As her eyes opened, the Doctor was delighted, hysterical and tearful to see the blue orbs staring back at him.

**_A.N: Well that only took forever to write... and I regret to say that it wasn't due to Writer's Block. _**

**_The reason I haven't updated any of my Doctor Who stories for so long is because I have completely lost interest in writing these Fics as you can probably tell from the lasts bits of this Chapter. Even as I was proof reading this page I felt like the words were dead and bored, which they are. To prevent any further damage to the Fic, this will be the last chapter in my Cub series. I kept my interest for around a year so I think I did well :) Sorry for anyone who wanted more insight on the Doctor's, Rose's and Rivi's lives, I just can't do these Fics anymore (which is a bit of a disappointment for me as I could literally write a biography on Rivi/Eliza's life)._**

**_Thank you for reading, guys. It's been a blast :..)_**


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